Short Story Contest
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is now open for the 2012 competition!
 Click here for PDF poster. |
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is calling for submissions! The contest awards the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The contest is sponsored by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan College, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, with media sponsorship provided by CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes are $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third. The three winning stories are celebrated at a reading hosted by the judge, a nationally renowned author. General Information for Submitting Stories to the ContestCheck the Rules Page http://www.okstorycontest.org/rules.html for details about the 2012 Contest. SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). The contest administrators are not responsible for lost manuscripts or late submissions. There is a $15 entry fee for each story. Entries must be postmarked on or before Friday December 16th, 2011 or must be received at the Creative Studies Office of the University of British Columbia Okanagan by that date. |
The Okanagan Short Story Contest has been shortlisted. Congratulations!
The three finalists will be announced at a public reading with contest judge Karen Connelly at the Okanagan Regional Library on Thursday February 2nd, 2012.
Available winners will be on hand to read an excerpt from their winning story.
The Okanagan Regional Library is pleased to host this event at 1380 Ellis Street, in Kelowna.
Authors shortlisted are:
Karen Hugdahl-Meyer, Vernon
Joanne Carey, Kelowna
Katherin Edwards, Kamloops
Shelley Wood, Kelowna
Karen Hofmann, Kamloops
Ben Colver, Kamloops
Jillian Harvey, Nelson
Tara Storness-Bliss, Kelowna
Congratulations again. We hope to see you at the event.
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is now open for the 2011 competition!
 Click here for PDF poster. |
The contest awards the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The contest is sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, with media sponsorship provided by CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes are $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third. The three winning stories are celebrated at a reading hosted by the judge, Annabel Lyon. General Information for Submitting Stories to the Contest Check the Rules Page http://www.okstorycontest.org/rules.html for details about the 2011 Contest. SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). The contest administrators are not responsible for lost manuscripts or late submissions. There is a $15 entry fee for each story. This year the deadline for entries is postmarked by Monday January 31, 2011. |
2010
 Click here to download poster. |
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is announced early this year to better suit our administrative deadlines. The new rules and deadlines for the 2010 contest are now posted! The contest awards three prizes for the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The contest is sponsored by University of British Columbia Okanagan, Okanagan College, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, with media sponsorship provided by CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes are $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third. The three winning stories are celebrated at a reading hosted by this year’s judge, Okanagan valley-raised Laisha Rosnau. General Information for Submitting Stories to the Contest Check the Rules Page http://www.okstorycontest.org/rules.html for details about the 2010 Contest. |
SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). The contest administrators are not responsible for lost manuscripts or late submissions. There is a $15 entry fee for each story. After administrative costs are paid, any extra funds are donated to the George Ryga Centre http://www.ryga.org/. This year the deadline for entries is early, January 22, 2010.
YOUNG WRITERS: A few talented young writers have become finalists in the past, so we certainly encourage them to submit their work. However, note this is a contest for adult short fiction, not children's stories.
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The Okanagan Short Story Contest is announced each year in January. THIS YEAR (2009) the new rules and deadlines are now posted! The contest awards the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The contest is sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, with media sponsorship provided by CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes are $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third. The three winning stories celebrated at a reading hosted by the judge, a nationally renowned fiction writer. General Information for Submitting Stories to the Contest Check the Rules Page for details about the 2009 Contest. SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). The contest administrators are not responsible for lost manuscripts or late submissions. There is a $12 entry fee for each story. After administrative costs are paid, any extra funds are donated to the George Ryga Centre. This year the deadline for entries is May 15, 2009. YOUNG WRITERS: A few talented young writers have become finalists in the past, so we certainly encourage them to submit their work. However, note this is a contest for adult short fiction, not children's stories. |
Photography Copyright © 2006 Nancy Holmes
Short Story Contest 2008 Click here for printable color poster. |
The Okanagan Short Story Contest is announced each year in January. The contest awards and publishes the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The contest is sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and the Central Okanagan Foundation, with media sponsorship provided by CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes are $500 for first prize, $200 for second, and $100 for third. The three winning stories are published in chapbook form, and a reading to celebrate the winners is hosted by the judge, a nationally renowned fiction writer. |
General Information for Submitting Stories to the Contest
Check the Rules Page for details about the 2008 Contest.
SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in
length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). The contest administrators are not responsible
for lost manuscripts or late submissions. There is a $12 entry fee for each story. After administrative
costs are paid, any extra funds are donated to the George Ryga Centre. This year the deadline for
entries is March 10, 2008.
YOUNG WRITERS: A few talented young writers have become finalists in the past, so we certainly
encourage them to submit their work. However, note this is a contest for adult short fiction, not
children's stories.
MEDIA RELEASE | January 9, 2007
Short Fiction Contest Open to All Southern Interior Writers
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The 9th-annual Okanagan Short Fiction Contest is expanding its boundaries. Formerly, only writers from the Okanagan Valley were eligible to submit entries, but the 2007 contest is now open to anyone living in B.C.'s Southern Interior, within the listening area of CBC Radio One from Kelowna. This includes all residents west of the Alberta border, south of William's Lake, east of Hope and north of the U.S. border. Writers have until March 16, 2007, to submit short stories for the Okanagan Short Fiction Contest, sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the Central Okanagan Foundation. |
Okanagan Short Story Contest - 2006
COME CELEBRATE
THE OKANAGAN SHORT STORY CONTEST!
Monday, June 12, 7 PM
Doc Willoughby’s
353 Bernard Ave, Kelowna BC
All Welcome!
Chapbooks of Winning Stories For Sale!
Adam Lewis Schroeder, this year’s contest judge, will read briefly from his work and announce the three top prize winners of the Okanagan Short Story Contest!
First Prize: $500
Second Prize: $200
Third Prize: $100
The short-listed writers up for the awards are Brian Fisher of Coldstream, Chris Fleck of Kelowna, Gord Gresenthwaite of Kelowna, Shandell Houlden of Kelowna, Jane-Marie James of Kelowna, Murray Mason of Penticton, Shane McDougall of Kelowna, Chris McMahen of Armstrong, Matthew Parisien of Kelowna , and Calvin White of Salmon Arm.
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Fiction writer Schroeder completed an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC. He has traveled widely and published short stories in several literary magazines. In 2001, Raincoast published his short fiction collection Kingdom of Monkeys. He now lives in Penticton BC . His first novel, Empress of Asia, is due out this fall. He reviews fiction for This Magazine and sits on the editorial board of Geist. |
The Okanagan Short Story contest is sponsored by the Central Okanagan Foundation, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and Okanagan College. Phone Nancy Holmes at 250-807-9369 for more information.
Each year the contest is announced in the new year. The contest is sponsored by Okanagan College, the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the Central Okanagan Foundation. Email Nancy Holmes if you want a copy of the rules or download the rules from this website.
Chapbooks of the winning stories can be read at the University of British Columbia library and some winning stories can be purchased at brianarm@shaw.ca
The Winners of the Okanagan Short Story Contest
- 2004- M. Anne Cooper, "Pea Soup"; Judge Brian Brett, Reading: The Rotary Centre for the Arts, Kelowna
- 2003- Starleigh Grass, "Duke"; Judge Aislinn Hunter, Reading: The Art Ark, Kelowna
- 2002- Dona Sturmanis, "Space"; Judge Dave Williamson. Reading: The Art Ark, Kelowna
- 2001- Kelly Dvorak, "Annie Tells"; Judge Billie Livingston. Reading: The Alternator Gallery, Kelowna.
- 2000-Virginia Dansereau, "Undertow"; Judge David Arnason. Reading: The George Ryga Centre, Summerland.
- 1999- no contest this year
- 1998- Tannis Atkinson, "Comfort"; Judge Cynthia Flood. Reading: The George Ryga Centre, Summerland.
- 1997- Alison Sivak, "Portrait of a Girl Who..."; Judge Sean Virgo. Reading: The George Ryga Centre, Summerland.
Second and Third prize winners have included Trish Lomin, Shirley Missiaen, Dawn Renaud, Lee Caufield, R.D. Shuttleworth, Virginia Dansereau, Anne Wise, Sarah Hambley, Steven Lattey, Brett Todd, Jill Rochelle Hiebert, Dona Sturmanis, and Darcie Hossack.
The History of the Okanagan Short Story Contest.
The Okanagan Short Story Contest was originally jointly sponsored by the Central Okanagan Foundation and Okanagan University College. In 2006, with the demise of Okanagan University College, the contest was revived as a joint project of the two new post-secondary institutions in the valley: Okanagan College and the University of British Columbia Okanagan. The contest has been held annually since 1997(with two years missing.) Support from the contest has come from the George Ryga Centre and CBC Radio One in Kelowna. Prizes each year vary, but they have included a cash award, a reading, the publication of the story in a chapbook, excerpts of the stories broadcast on CBC radio, and a weekend retreat at the George Ryga Centre.
English professors John Lent and Nancy Holmes administer the contest for Okanagan College and UBC Okanagan respectively. The short story contest is made possible by the efforts of support staff at UBC Okanagan, our terrific judges, the wonderful people at the George Ryga Centre and the Central Okanagan Foundation. The contest administrators are not responsible for lost manuscripts or late submissions. Please always send a photocopy and not an original of your work.There is a $10 entry fee for each story. After administrative costs are paid, any extra funds are donated to the George Ryga Centre.
General Information for Submitting Stories to the Contest
YOUNG WRITERS: We have had a couple of teens make it to the short listed stage. So we encourage talented young writers to submit their work. However, this is a contest for adult short fiction, not children's stories. We are unable to provide written responses to manuscripts.
SHORT STORIES: We are looking for works of adult fiction that fall between 1000 - 4000 words in length (about 4 - 20 pages, typed, double-spaced). If you submit chapters from novels, work for children, non-fiction articles or memoirs, screenplays etc. you're probably wasting your money!
Last reviewed 
1/20/2012 12:23:51 PM
